Sei and Reiji
is the first episode of Gundam Build Fighters. Synopsis Sei Iori aims to participate in the Gunpla Battle Championship World Tournament, but despite his skill at building models, he can't control them in battle. Then Sazaki challenges him to a Gunpla battle in order to get his hands on Sei's high-performance Gunpla. Sei accepts the battle, thinking that if he can't even beat Sazaki, then he'd be defeated instantly if he made it to the championship. But Sei is backed into a corner by Sazaki's overbearing fighting style until the appearance of Reiji, a mysterious boy who he met earlier that day. Even though Reiji has never used Gunpla before, he overwhelms Sazaki's Gunpla with his superb control technique. Sei builds, and Reiji battles. Thus the Gundam Build Fighters are born!GundamInfo Plot In a intense space battle, the GAT-X105B Build Strike Gundam launches from the deck of the MSC-07 Albion. The Gundam's pilot, Sei Iori, charges into battle against some Zakus, but his father tells him that the Build Strike's arm isn't connected properly. It promptly falls of its joint, with the Zakus shooting Sei...only for the entire sequence to be just a dream. Sei's mother, Rinko Iori, leaves Sei to tend to their hobby store, Iori Models. Sei frets over having no customers, and complains about his father, Takeshi Iori, establishing the store too far from major Tokyo hubs. At the same time, in downtown, a red haired boy, Reiji is amazed at the scale and population of Tokyo, and wonders how much bigger than Arian it could be. A police officer tells him to get down. Sei gets his first customers of the day, a father and his young son, looking at buying some Gunpla. The father is amazed as Sei's skill in building shelves of Gunpla and notices the 2nd place trophy from the 2nd Gunpla Battle World Tournament, but Sei says that it belonged to his father. The kid asks his dad about a particular Gunpla, and Sei perks up, ranting about the XXXG-01W Wing Gundam and its immense capabilities. Just then, neighborhood boy Susumu Sazaki drops in, tells the pair that even though Sei was thorough in building the models, it doesn't mean they can win battles, and challenges him to a Gunpla Battle with his YMS-15SS Gyan. Sei accepts the challenge, and is immediately attacked by Susumu. Sei transforms the Wing Gundam into Bird Mode to gain some distance, but Susumu uses his custom made shield to break off the Wing's wing. Sei's reactions are too slow and he is eventually defeated by Susumu's Gyan. After the battle, Susumu declares that it is only the strong who win Gunpla battles. Susumu then proposes to Sei that they fight as a team to enter the 7th World Championship, but Sei declines due to his rough fighting style. He then remembers his father, who dominated the 2nd tournament in his RX-78-2 Gundam. Dejected, Sei walks until he sees a promo for the 7th World Championship. He continues fretting about his lack of skill when he runs into Reiji. Sei notes that he doesn't "look" Japanese and is surprised about his lack of knowledge about Gundam. He explains to Reiji that the tournament involves combat between Gunpla. Reiji then reveals that he picked up a apple fritter outside of a store, to which the owner confronts Reiji about. Sei offers to pay for the fritter for Reiji and gets him a drink. Before he leaves, Reiji gives him a rock to make a wish on, and he'll be there. At school, Sei is too focused on the rock to pay attention in class, as observed by his classmate China Kousaka. Rinko looks at Sei's completed Build Strike and comments that it has the same aura of the models that his father built. Susumu once again enters the store and marvels at the Build Strike. One of the store regulars, Mr. Ral approaches Susumu and warns him that nothing is guaranteed in battle. The latter challenges Sei to a rematch, with the price being Sei's Build Strike. Sei's new Gunpla is fast to avoid the Gyan, but it is too well built for Sei's poor piloting skills. Susumu corners and knocks down the Build Strike. Sei frets over his potential second loss, but Reiji comes in with the power of the rock and takes control of the Build Strike. After adapting to the controls, Reiji easily exploits the full potential of the Build Strike and dominates Susumu's Gyan, finishing him off with a beam saber. When Reiji vanishes, Sei searches through the night for him to no avail. The next morning, Reiji shows up in his kitchen, eating food in exchange for taking care of the store. Stats Characters *Sei Iori *Reiji *Rinko Iori *Susumu Sazaki *China Kousaka *Mr. Ral Featured Mobile Weapons Main *GAT-X105B Build Strike Gundam *YMS-15SS Gyan Others *MSC-07 Albion *Birmingham-class *RGM-79C Powered GM *RGM-79N GM Custom *RGC-83 GM Cannon II *MS-06F2 Zaku II F2 Type *XXXG-01W Wing Gundam *YMS-15 Gyan *RX-78-2 Gundam *RGZ-91 Re-GZ *NRX-044 Asshimar *PMX-000 Messala *ZM-S22S Rig Shokew *XM-01 Den'an Zon *XM-02 Den'an Gei *AMX-117L Gazu-L *AMX-117R Gazu-R *MSK-008 Dijeh *ZGMF-X10A Freedom Gundam *GF13-037NCA Lumber Gundam *TAF-M9 Eagail Trivia *Rinko tells Sei she is heading off to the 08th Supermarket, a subtle reference to Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team. *The episode served as an informal commercial for the High Grade After Colony 1/144 scale XXXG-01W Wing Gundam, which was released less than a month before the episode's broadcast. *The scene where Sazaki throws away his Gyan's Rifle and Shield is similar to how Kira Yamato tossed away his GAT-X105 Strike Gundam's Shield and Aile Pack during his fight with Andrew Waltfeld in Mobile Suit Gundam SEED. *The next episode preview tagline ("Will I survive school?") echoes the episode preview tagline of Mobile Suit Gundam ("Who will survive?"). References